Trump puzzled by FEMA official who claimed he was teleported to a Waffle House: ‘What does teleport mean?’ | EUROtoday

President Donald Trump has reacted with confusion after studying {that a} prime catastrophe reduction official in his administration continues to keep up he was as soon as teleported to a Waffle House.

“What does teleport mean?” the president mentioned to CNN, in accordance with a report printed Tuesday. “Was he kidding?”

“I don’t know anything about teleporting. … It just sounds a little strange, but I know nothing about teleporting or him, but I’ll find out about it right now,” Trump added.

“I had to literally stop in the middle like, ‘This is real,’” Andrew Kaczynski, the reporter who spoke to Trump, mentioned on CNN on Tuesday of the dialog.

The trade was in regard to FEMA Associate Administrator Gregg Phillips, who claimed he was as soon as driving and instantly transported 50 miles away to a Waffle House in Georgia.

Phillips, the quantity three official on the emergency response company, made the feedback in early 2025, earlier than he was put in at FEMA late final yr. He has continued to keep up he was teleported, although he insists he has been taken out of context and that CNN, which uncovered his claims, authored a “hit” piece.

“The word ‘teleportation’ was not mine,” Phillips wrote on social media earlier this month.

“It was used by someone else in the conversation reaching for language to describe something with no easy name,” he added. “The more accurate biblical terms are ‘translated’ or ‘transported’ — not new ideas for people of faith.”

Phillips, who started serving at FEMA in December, has reportedly been sidelined throughout the company since his feedback drew widespread consideration, in accordance with CNN.

He was taken off the schedule forward of a current congressional listening to quickly after his feedback got here to gentle and the administration has reportedly directed him to cease making claims about teleportation.

Earlier this month, Phillips, who leads the FEMA Office of Response and Recovery, claimed President Trump’s Truth Social platform was blocking him from posting concerning the teleportation story.

“I’ve tried to post it six times,” Phillips wrote, tagging the platform’s CEO Devin Nunes. “Why are you blocking me and my ability to respond?”

The publish, reported by Mediaite, seems to have since been taken down.

The official was additionally reportedly excluded from a current journey with newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to go to components of North Carolina nonetheless battling the aftermath of 2024’s Hurricane Helene.

The Independent has contacted the White House, FEMA and its guardian company DHS for remark.

Democratic critics of the president have been dismayed over the high-ranking FEMA official’s outlandish claims.

“FEMA is on its third unqualified acting administrator in 15 months,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, the rating member of the House Homeland Security Committee, mentioned on the March listening to the place Phillips had been slated to seem. “And the witness that was scheduled to testify today, Mr. Gregg Phillips, raises serious concerns.”

The Trump administration’s dealing with of the emergency company has been underneath heavy scrutiny.

The White House has tried to shrink the scope of federal catastrophe work by pursuing 1000’s of job cuts at FEMA and shifting duties over to the states.

The company additionally confronted allegations of dysfunction and delay underneath the management of the lately fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.